TWELVE months ago, Tilly Lucas-Rodd was an inside midfielder managing a serious foot problem, and captain of Hawthorn.

Today, they're fully fit, in career-best form as a half-back flanker, and while no longer skipper, they're in the leadership group.

When Daniel Webster was appointed coach of the Hawks, the self-described "very analytical" Lucas-Rodd suspected change was on the horizon.

It made what could have been a highly emotional change – with Emily Bates elected captain after Lucas-Rodd's two years in charge – much more straightforward.

"It's an interesting one. Hayley (Miller, former Fremantle captain) summed it up well when she said it's the highlight of your career, and it's an honour to lead your club. And I feel the same, it was a real honour to lead Hawthorn in the first two years. I wasn't disappointed in that way, but you lose something," Lucas-Rodd told AFL.com.au.

"I kind of expected it in a way, with Bec (Goddard) leaving. I had a really close relationship with Bec, and when she retired and stepped away from coaching, you just know. Different era. The club was good in communicating that. 

"Max Bailey (general manager of footy operations) sat all the leaders down soon after Bec left, and said they'd redo the leadership process. He said you'll all lead in your own way, but we're redoing the leadership process. 

"We went through a rigorous process in re-evaluating our values as a whole playing group and what we stand for. It wasn't a shock, but it was a huge honour to lead Hawthorn.

"Emotionally, I'm really good at processing things and understanding them for what they are. 'Batesy' has amazing strengths as a captain and a leader, so of course that's going to happen."

Freed up from the extra responsibilities associated with captaincies – even one as simple as the pre-game pump-up, which the excitable Aileen Gilroy often ran regardless, and still does – Lucas-Rodd could focus on their own fitness and form.

In January last year, on a holiday to Sydney with teammates Lou Stephenson and Bridget Deed, Lucas-Rodd pulled up sore from a run.

It was off-season, so they didn't immediately rush to inform the club physio, waiting to see if their foot would settle over the next two weeks.

They didn't anticipate the 18-month rehab ahead to deal with plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the band of tissue that runs lengthways along the foot, connecting the heel to the toes.

"I had a small tear in it. They scanned it once before pre-season, then we scanned it a few months later, and it'd gotten worse. The tear had gotten bigger, and the band (of tissue) had gotten thicker. Basically, it was constant, everyday pain in my foot," Lucas-Rodd said.

"We did lots of things, we tried cortisone injections, I did a nerve burn in my foot to try and stop the pain, with a needle. But that hit the wrong nerve, so my toes had this tingling, burning sensation for a few weeks. 

"I did less than 50 per cent pre-season last year, and then played all year. I was on anti-inflams and painkillers to get through." 

The issue persisted into the first half of 2024. Surgery – which can bring all its own complications and additional stress reactions, particularly when the foot is involved – was the very last resort, and the Hawthorn club doctor wasn't keen on it as an option.

"In this off-season, I was at my wits' end. We de-loaded it completely, more cortisone – the first one didn't work, but the second one did," Lucas-Rodd said.

"A couple of weeks before pre-season, it went away, and touch wood, hasn't come back. That's how plantar fasciitis works, sometimes it can just go away. 

"I also saw the Australian ballet physio, Sue Mayes. The club sent me there with our physio and doc, and she said it's so common in ballet. She gave me exercises to do in the off-season."

Mayes, the long-term principal physio at Australian Ballet, is also well-versed in football issues, having worked with Finn Callaghan's foot, Tom Stewart's Lisfranc injury, Ben Jacob's foot and Sam Wright's ankle.

Lucas-Rodd uses the word "meticulous" to describe them and their preparation ahead of a football match.

The day before a game, lunch is a chicken and salad roll, yoghurt and a piece of fruit, while dinner is gluten-free spaghetti bolognese with their mum's sauce and garlic bread.

Game day isn't complete without a pre-match walk with dog Bonnie, a stretch and foam roll.

Such is the routine, the gluten-free pasta – instigated when Lucas-Rodd's partner at the time, Bri Davey, had trialled it – remains on the menu, despite eating gluten with all other meals.

Life's rigid routines meant Lucas-Rodd's first chronic injury was a serious risk of causing a mental spiral.

"I'm always in the high-performance office, looking at GPS data, seeing how far I've run and how much I've been at top speed, and what that means for my playing output," they said.

"It can be a hinderance as well. If you're not able to hit that metric or get it exactly how you want, in your mind, does everything unravel? 

"There's a definite dangerous side to it. I wasn't able to run or do the things I knew would make me a better athlete or footballer, so that control was taken away. 

"I've been working at it with my psych, she's really great. We're using a high-performance mindset, and not everything has to be perfect for the outcome to be the same. 

"I think I've adapted that this season. Some games, I haven't been nervous, and I like being nervous before I play. So I thought I wouldn't play well. But I've tried to reframe it, that I don't have to be nervous or anxious to play well."

While they were still managing their foot issue, Lucas-Rodd set up an off-season plan filled with cross-training – swimming, riding, HITT classes, yoga, pilates – to help maintain a fitness base without needing to amass the kilometres by running.

It also helped with their mindset, controlling the controllables with a well-structured routine, without needing the ideal preparation. 

When the plantar faciitis was under control, the thoughts of Lucas-Rodd and new coach Webster turned to the Hawk's role in 2024.

Webster had a new game-plan he was keen to implement, and that didn't involve Lucas-Rodd as an inside midfielder.

But Lucas-Rodd had their own ideas for a positional switch.

"When 'Webby' first got hired, he did the ring-arounds and spoke to everyone. He talked about his gameplan and the way he sees our list building. Then he was talking about my role. He said he thought as a midfield, we didn't get the most out of ourselves individually (last year)," Lucas-Rodd said. 

"He mentioned what he thought my strengths were, and I said I saw myself as a really good ball-user and outside runner, and he said he agreed and that he thought I'd been forced to be an inside player at St Kilda and the Hawks. 

"One of the roles he likes is a mid-forward, and he was pitching that to me, and I said I love that role, but being a small forward is challenging, and you can get starved of opportunity. 

"So I suggested half-back. I'm a defensively minded player, and I played forward at times last year, but I didn't love it. I also knew we had 'Westy' (Eliza West) coming in, so thought there was an opportunity to use my strengths in another part of the ground."

Lucas-Rodd said when the VFLW season got underway, Webster was still in "three minds" – whether to employ them as a defender, midfielder or forward – but he trialled them at half-back over a few weeks.

In game one, Lucas-Rodd was happy with their offensive impact, but Ellie Blackburn kicked four going the other way.

The following week, a clash with the Southern Saints at Wonthaggi, Lucas-Rodd recorded a game-high 30 touches – nine more than the next player on the field – and the move was set in stone.

"We saw my strengths the same, it was just about how we can best employ it for the team," Lucas-Rodd said.

"At Carlton, I was wing, half-forward, everywhere. Then going to St Kilda, Peta Searle's plan was to play me and Darcy Guttridge at half-back as a two-prong attack. It's like going home to the position I felt most comfortable, and it suits my football strengths."

Lucas-Rodd was drafted as a 20-year-old, and now at 28, has grown up through an extraordinary evolution of women's football.

"If (young) Tilly came into our program now, it'd be so interesting to be my teammate. I can be really cheeky and a bit of a smartarse. And I think when I was first drafted, I had a lot of that energy," they said.

"There's been some natural growing up, growing out of being a kid, having been a bit cheeky and naughty and saying exactly what I think, but I've also grown in confidence. 

"When I was at Carlton, I was in and out of the side, was delisted, and I'm now more confident in myself as a footballer. Then those elite habits – we were playing local footy (pre-AFLW), we'd finish the game and go to the pub. Learning about what it takes to be elite. 

"I'm a completely different person. If Tilly was drafted now, I'd find them entertaining, but think they've got a lot to learn."